Happy Friday!
A couple more images from my wanderings through the countryside this past Tuesday. Hate to see “Old Glory” in this condition. I really hate to see the disrespect that some are showing to our flag and our nation.
I rarely pass up a chance to photograph a windmill.
Hot and humid in our part of the world today. I’m ready for some cooler autumn weather.
Enjoy your weekend and be careful.
Happy Wednesday!
Yesterday I didn’t have any lunch meetings or anyone to go to lunch with so I did what I haven’t done in a long time. Grabbed a quick meal and then went wandering through the countryside with my camera.
I have three images for you today.
Not the golden hour, “obviously” but still I’m happy with these landscape images.
This is not my replacement tree, I’m still looking for that but I did like the way this guy looked sitting on the hillside.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Monday!
Got to spend some quality time with the Grand Children this past Saturday so I have four images (4 kids) today. We went over to the large play ground near our home after lunch and the kids blew off a lot of energy playing. I of course needed a nap after they went home. Austin and I played on this teeter-totter and he got a big kick out of it.
Gabby is into gymnastics and so she is always practicing her moves. The playground equipment really lets the children extend themselves as much or as little as they want to.
Josh is really getting into photography so I gave him this tripod. I purchased it two years ago when I was going on a photography trip and it was light enough to carry. To light for my equipment but perfect for the little Nikon Coolpix camera that Josh has. He is learning what most of us want to be photographers have already learned, most people don’t like to have their picture taken. 🙂
I have several images of Addie, but this is her normal pose right now. Sweet little baby but she sleeps a lot.
Back to the clinic this morning for more tests and lab work.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Friday!
I have three images for today all in black and white. I haven’t processed many images in black and white for sometime and I realize again how powerful some images can be in black and white.
One of the photography websites that I check everyday has a fair amount of black and white photography and whether it’s people, landscapes, or wildlife black and white photography does add an element of intrigue (for me anyway) to the image.
Hope you enjoyed the excursion into B&W.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Thursday!
I have three images from my trip to the river on Tuesday. This is something you don’t see every day, one tug boat pushing another tug boat. I’m not sure if the first one is not working or they are just saving money by piggy backing it back to their home port.
All the years I have lived in Dubuque and all the many times I’ve been to the river I never realized this staging area existed. I had to walk a fair distance to find it and the only reason I found it was as I was photographing the old iron bridge I notice a large tug boat heading to what looked like the shore only to disappear out of sight.
So I had to investigate and I found this staging area where they assemble barges for the trip up and down the river. I’ll pay more attention to this place in the future.
You can click on this image to make it larger and if you do pay attention to the big river boat in the distant background. I’ll explain why in the next image.
I am an admitted gear head and somewhat of a lazy photographer. Meaning I don’t normally like to hike very far to get a picture.
So a few weeks ago Tamron® announced the release of a new lens that was described as an “Ultra Zoom.” It is an 18 – 400 mm lens for “cropped sensor” camera bodies. When I put it on my D500 (which is a cropped sensor camera) the lens becomes a 27 – 600 mm lens (with the 1.5 times crop factor.) I took this image standing in the exact same spot as the second image in this series. Additionally there was no cropping of this image.
I have not made a lot of images with it but I do know that it is not the sharpest lens at 600 mm. However if you only want to carry one lens and be able to handle a variety of shooting opportunities, it is the perfect lens. Considering the range you get with this lens it is remarkably inexpensive.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Wednesday!
First let me express my deep gratitude and appreciation for all the wonderful support I’ve received over the last few days from dear friends and readers of this blog.
Jeanne said my post of this past Monday sounded so ominous that folks would think the worst. That was not my intention. If you’ve followed my blog for any time you are aware that I pretty much write what is on my mind. I’ve been having some health issues that I did not understand and always fearing the worst I wrote that blog just before my medical tests and doctor appointment.
The results of the test were not what I wanted to hear but far better than I was fearful of. Long story short I have to have surgery in a few weeks. In the whole scheme of things it is probably not considered major surgery, but it’s major to me. I’ve always enjoyed saying I have all my original parts and soon I won’t be able to say that anymore. The recovery time is about a week and full functionality in a month (lifting things.)
So enough about that. I will keep you posted if you’re interested. I took this week off as vacation just in case I needed to have surgery sooner than later.
Yesterday, I grabbed a camera and went down to the river. Even though the light was harsh and no clouds to speak of it felt really good to be making images again.
I was surprised to see this monster at the port of Dubuque. This is the America. A five-story river boat that cruises the mighty Mississippi River.
I simply could not resist capturing an image of the ubiquitous gull. I love to watch and photograph them. There were hundreds of ducks and gulls on the shore and floating in the river. Fun to watch them.
This is a massive vessel and carries about 185 passengers. From American’s website ~ Launched in 2016, America is one of the finest Mississippi paddlewheelers ever built, introducing features never before seen on the Mississippi. America embodies a casual ambiance and relaxed atmosphere while providing panoramic views of the passing scenery. With only 185 guests, fellow guests will quickly become new friends.
If you would like to see more about this boat and watch a short video about the accommodations click here.
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Monday!
Sixteen years ago today our country changed for ever when it was attacked without provocation by Al–Qaeda! That aside I have been absent from my blog for several weeks only posting occasionally mainly family events.
So this morning I go to the doctor to have a series of tests to find out what is going on with my health. I am prepared for the worst but hoping for the best. I apologize for letting the blog languish for these many weeks.
I have lost my passion for creativity because of other worries. Hopefully after tomorrow I can get that all behind me and get back to doing what I love the most, which is taking images.
Last night as I was eating dinner I notice the setting sun casting this beautiful light (with shadows) on some pebbles on our patio. I was motivated to grab a camera and make an image. 🙂
Thanks for your support.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Saturday!
Yesterday I got to spend some quality time with my daughter and my newest grand-daughter Addie. It was wonderful talking with Angie and watching the facial contortions of Addie as she slept.
This is the only image out of 35 that she opened her eyes. 🙂
The occasional “coo” scrunched up face was fun to hear and see.
The miracle of newborn life is a wonder to experience.
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Thursday!
A golf course is a serenely, beautiful place full of color, trees, small animals, and water.
Then there is the frustration, anxiety, humiliation, and anger as you play the game. There is a wonderful book entitled “A Good Walk Spoiled” by John Feinstein, which was inspired by Mark Twain’s quote “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”
Enjoy your day and be careful.
Happy Wednesday!
I was at a golf event this past Monday. Usually in these type of events there is a fair amount of waiting between shots or to start a new hole. Such was the case on hole #4 when I saw this little squirrel jumping and rolling around on the ground, so I grabbed my camera took some shots of him.
I couldn’t capture all the action as he was really tugging on this dead limb (or whatever it was) but I did get lucky enough to catch when it finally broke free of the tree and he landed on his back with it firmly in his mouth. 🙂
A more common pose for a little squirrel in this image. I was inclined to stay and watch him but my team mates were suggesting that I should get on the tee and take my turn. >sigh<
Enjoy your day and be careful.
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